Selling a home in our North Georgia market over the last few years has been a roller coaster to say the least. Beginning in 2020 and continuing through 2023 real estate values began to skyrocket due to limited inventory, low interest rates, and extreme demand from buyers pouring into our area. It was not uncommon to have multiple offers with many above list price on just about any property that was listed on the market.
By late 2023 the market began to level out as far as dramatic increases in values and adjusted back to a more normal rate of appreciation. This was mainly due to higher interest rates and higher inflation beginning to effect the market. Many buyers just could not keep up and as the summer of 2025 approached the market actually began a correction cycle. Appreciation went somewhat flat with some areas beginning to decrease for the 1st time in many years.
The good news for 2025 was that the overall volume was up over the previous year. As we move into 2026 it looks as though it will stay relatively similar to 2025. The forecast on mortgage interest rates looks to hold fairly steady around 6% with inflation beginning to ease a bit.
As a seller you’ll need to be flexible. We are not in a full blown buyers market but we are definitely moving away from the seller’s market we’ve begun to become accustomed to. Homes that are market ready will sell more quickly than those that are not. Increased inventory will give buyers more choices and many if not most buyers will be more aggressive negotiating on both price and seller concessions.
